I like the keyword ‘sovereignty’ for all Queens; Queen of Pentacles is sovereign over their environment, their body, their resources. Queens teach us how to set boundaries and how to practice both exquisite self-care and radical self-compassion. Queen of Pentacles asks us to take ownership over our finances, to tend to our homes and beautify our living spaces, and to nourish our physical selves. On the deepest level, this Queen is about learning that the material and the spiritual are one and the same. This Queen trusts in the magic of their incarnation, and understands that not only is their body a temple, to use that old adage, but that everywhere they stand is sacred ground. Seeing through that lens, Queen of Pentacles offers a powerful opportunity to release judgment of ourselves. Their elemental signature is Water and Earth, which combines to make clay. This Queen understands that both our lives and our bodies are not fixed, but pliable like clay; so not only can this Queen adapt to all manner of circumstances with grace, but they extend infinite compassion towards the shape they are taking, in their life and in their physical self. They embody a sense of authentic faith, for they know that every cell and fiber is holy.

The most important thing to remember about the Star is that it follows the Tower in the narrative arc of the Major Arcana. The Tower, of course, is a card that depicts a huge upheaval. The imagery of the Star stands in such stark contrast to the Tower’s drama and destruction; it shows a naked figure calmly pouring water by a still pool, and you can almost feel the whisper of a cool breeze. It seems so welcoming and lovely, and *sometimes* that’s true. Sometimes this card can indicate that we’re feeling refreshed and reinspired, nourishing ourselves spiritually, emotionally, and creatively, and that generally life is sweet. HOWEVER, oftentimes we pull this card when we’re feeling, frankly, pretty shitty, and that can be a little confounding. And so it’s good to be reminded of the contrasting energies of the Tower and the Star, and how disorienting it is to move from the chaotic and painful falling-apart of card 16 to the open landscape of card 17. From being thrown from the walls of the Tower you’d always known to being completely defenseless. It is sudden exposure. It is a deep acknowledgment of vulnerability. The Tower, at its core, is an experience that teaches us humility—and the Star is where we must learn to operate without the delusion that we are in control. That is a beautiful and critical part of our growth, but it’s also a huge learning curve. This energy can feel very much like one-step-forward, two-steps-back, and *that’s ok*. Healing is not linear, and accepting our own vulnerability is scary. We are *tender* in this energy: that can mean compassionate and soft-hearted, and that can mean tender like a bruise.